20080418 Friday Our March Newsletter!

Dear Family and Friends:

Good morning. We wanted to give you an update of our trip to the deliciously cool PNG Highlands. For our first week in the Highlands, we stayed with the PNG National Foursquare President, Timothy and Salome Tipitap in their home in Wapenamanda in Enga Province. It really was a blessing as we could actually sleep with the cooler weather than we are used to. We visited the U.S.K. Health Center overlooking the beautiful Tsak valley in the area and also visited the area haus sik (hospital) (see attached picture). At the end of the week, we drove to the provincial capital Wabag to visit with the health administrators.

We also spoke both in Pastor Timothy’s church and his wife’s Pastor Salome’s church. It is not unusual for many married Christian couples to have to individually pastor a church because there are not enough pastors to fill the need. This makes for busy lives. But we found the people open and hungry for the things of God and were privileged to see God move in powerful ways. I am always surprised that He will use us – we just have to be willing and available. At one venue, I was able to share about forgiveness and giving God time to work things out in our lives. At Pastor Salome’s church, Victor preached about the Great Commission and 6 people came forward to dedicate their lives to the work of world evangelism. It was wonderful to see the people committing themselves to do whatever God wanted so that His kingdom would move forward.

For our second week in the Highlands, we had to drive across four stunningly beautiful provinces (Enga, Western Highlands, Chimbu, Eastern Highlands) to attend the PNG National Foursquare pastor’s bung (meeting) in Goroka. There, we met many new and old friends (see attached picture). The bung was held at General Supervisor’s Pastor Kauga Balme’s Goroka Sunrise Foursquare Church where a recent church extension had been built. Northwest Church in Federal Way, WA previously and generously funded some of the extension and the facility looked great! While we were there, many pastors came to us there and formally invited us to their areas to do our combined medical and evangelism outreaches.

We returned from the Highlands to a drought here in the islands at the hottest time of the year. All the villages are out of water and so we are unable to wash clothes and have to haul water in our car for six pot-holed bumpy miles. It is physically very difficult.

On March 14^th and 15^th we completed our scheduled medical/evangelistic outreach to a very remote in the South Baining coastal area of Pomeo district here in East New Britain . After previously driving to the region for six hours to do a community entry visit, we decided to hire a boat and travel 3 hours and over 60 kilometers to the region instead (see attached picture). Driving there took us six hours and we had to cross rugged mountains and deep rivers to get there, so we took the shorter boat trip. We held the two day medical outreach at the old Mungou village aid post and the Friday evening evangelism service at the nearby Gar village where there is a new Foursquare church plant. We took 2 nurses, 2 worship leaders, 6 Pastors, 2 boat operators , medical supplies, life jackets, food and supplies, and additional fuel for the return trip. So including Victor, Alex and myself we had a very full boat. But, God provided a calm ocean and we followed the coast for the most part so it all worked out.

One of the PNG nurses, Jennifer, had a vision as we were traveling. As we arrived at our destination, she saw Jesus standing up in front of the boat in a white robe smiling. And along the coast were large angels celebrating that we were coming. This greatly encouraged the Pastors when she shared it later at the service.

We had asked God to point out the people He wanted us to talk to and to help us know what to say before we left. When we first arrived at the outreach , some of us began visiting with the group of children and Mommas that had come to see what was going on. One boy, about 10 years old, was sitting in the middle of the group and I sensed that I should talk to him. He refused at first to answer my questions in Tok Pisin saying “I don’t understand.” But I felt I was not to stop so I kept gently trying to talk to him and finally he just opened up and started talking to me. I noticed a open sore on his leg and told him if he came to the medical clinic I would clean and dress it. I felt I was to tell him that God knew his name and loved him very much. Then we had to quickly go set up the clinic so we left. Later I found out that his Momma had suddenly died 2 days before and he had been so upset the village didn’t know what to do with him. His father had died 2 years ago and he thought he was all alone. Isn’t that like God to reach out to the hurt and broken?

We saw many people. People from the surrounding villages, which included Gar, Mungou, Lat, Marc, and Merai, attended the outreaches. Some walked 12 hours just to come to the clinic. Between all of us, we saw 582 adults and children for medical care and we laid hands and prayed for many (see attached picture). All who attended heard and saw the Gospel of Jesus Christ “fleshed-out” before their eyes. During the Friday evening evangelism service, 26 people went forward to give their hearts to Jesus under the starry night. Many of those that came forward were people from villages very far away, and some were those we had prayed for at the clinic. What rejoicing we had. Victor spoke to the Pastors there about follow-up, water baptism, and discipleship for those who came forward so that these new little ones can learn and grow. Please pray for them. After the salvation call, many people came forward for prayer and healing – very powerful. Three ladies with cerebral palsy babies came forward and received commanding and healing prayer. God loves the PNG people!

Then it was midnight and we needed a bath. So the locals took us on a hike to a river and would intermittently throw rocks into the water to scare away the puk-puks (crocodiles). Alex made tree-sized shadows along the shore in the light of the kerosene lantern and the Pastors laughed and laughed as we quickly washed as fast as we could so we could get out of the water. But oh, did that “wash-wash” (bath) feel good! Then we returned to our village in the dark and tried to go to sleep as fast as possible as the house had many tenants which included rats. In the morning fresh rat droppings were all around our beds. We packed up and headed for our second day of medical clinic. We left that afternoon via boat and ran out of fuel before our destination so we were drifting in a current headed towards the smoking volcano. We prayed and somehow the operator was able to get the motor to run long enough on fumes to get directly to shore. It was God of course that helped us.

We thank you so much for your prayers. We believe that God continues to desire that we serve the people of the PNG islands. In addition to our medical outreaches, we continue to be very active in the ministry building projects here (such as the Bible School shower and toilet facility that Northwest Church funded), in Leadership Training, in the United Foursquare Women’s Ministry, in the planning and implementation of evangelism crusades, in preaching, and in the NGI Bible School planning and soon teaching, just to name a few.

We kindly ask that you will pray for the following:

• Our next major medical outreach planned for Open Bay on the other side of East New Britain Island on April 18-20^th. We will hire a boat for the long sail and take an evangelism team with us to an area that is nicely suited for a church plant.

• Our upcoming Leadership Training series for pastors and leaders. Biblical and Crisis Counseling will be covered and Victor will use curriculum from the King’s Seminary to teach the class. Please pray that God will anoint this class.

• The New Guinea Island Foursquare Bible School planning for the next school year. A new fund drive is currently underway so that the Bible School toilets, showers, and dormitories will be completed before students arrive in February 2009.

• We are very close to being able to order medications and supplies through the area medical store here in Rabaul. Please pray that we will continue to have good favor with the government, medical, and church community here.

• The dust and ash from the nearby volcano has been especially heavy, and is now closing the airport and causing health concerns in the area. Please pray that God would quiet this volcano.

• There has been a drought in the area for over a month now. Everyone’s rain water tanks are empty and food supplies are low. Please pray for rain.

• We moved closer to town this past week where there is an actual water supply and more reliable utilities like power and phone.. Please pray for our transition and for the Malari family who kindly housed us during our first year here in PNG in Ralubang village.

Thanks again for your support and for sending us here. World evangelism is a team ministry and we are glad to be in service to the King with you.

Blessings,

Victor, Lori, and Alexander Obregon

Attempt Great Things For God
Expect Great Things From God
William Carey

20080416 Wednesday Our February Newsletter!

Hello olgeta (hello “everyone” in Tok Pisin):

Our last medical outreach was a one-day outreach to the Kabanga plantation and surrounding villages in January 20th . It was a follow-up visit to an underserved area of East New Britain where we had previously held an evangelism crusade. We had something happen that was very significant. Five local nurses and medical workers from a local hospital, some of who were HIV/AIDS counselors, accompanied us on the outreach (see picture). They staffed most of the clinic and did some very important HIV/AIDS awareness teaching. We were able to share information and laughter and we saw the very hard-working people who were otherwise busy cutting and drying coconut for the market. It was good to see the medical ministry staffs almost entirely by PNG nationals.

A special memory I had of that particular day was when we were taking a break. I saw a little boy around the age of 5 slowly dragging his left foot along the ground. When I went to check him, I saw he had an infected big toe. He was a little afraid of me so I handed out some colorful stickers that Cindy had brought. All the bystanders crowded in to each get a sticker. They like to put it on their faces. As I was crouched down cleaning this tender toe, I felt a little hand stroke my hair from behind. Now, there wasn’t any way I could turn to see who touched me because I was concentrating on the boy. Even though we were outside in a large area, the children were packed all around me – I could barely move my arms to clean the sore. It was strange to be so moved by this gentle touching of my hair, but I felt like I wasn’t supposed to respond. Later, sitting on the ground and watching a skit being put on, I noticed the most beautiful perfectly formed miniature conch shell with a lavender interior strewn among the rubbish.. It reminded me of God’s heart. He is always moved by the heart that is reaching out to Him wondering and questioning much like the child who touched my hair. I pray that God will show Himself strong to this one.

Our village had a large funeral that we attended. The deceased was Pastor Komet’s father from the village we live in. Victor was called to see the man in the village just before he died. He rode with Pastor Komet and most of the family to the local hospital where he died. Victor was deeply moved by the care and love given to this elderly man by all of the family present and the hospital staff. Part of the family are Christians and part were not, so it was a traditional Tolei funeral complete with “dukduks” (men dressed in costumes who have asked the spirits of their dead ancestors to possess them – see picture) and a week of wailing and morning and the giving out of coils and coils of shell money. The heartbreaking part was the awful wailing of the people who have no hope yet.

Cindy and I went to the local hospital and distributed little packages to the labor ward (which is unlike any ward you could imagine) and prayed with some women. Then a couple days later, we went into the bush to check on a lady who was pregnant and I brought our Doppler so we could hear the baby’s heart beat. On the way home we prayed over a young girl named “Lucy” that had survived being struck on the forehead with a coconut. Many people often die as a result of a fallen coconut. We prayed hard and gave her some mild pain medicine, trusting all the while that God would heal her. She survived.

With regard to the pastor’s Leadership Training classes, Keith and Victor began a series in January on Spiritual Gifts which they finished recently. Victor handled the biblical basis and theology and Keith covered the practice of the spiritual gifts in the local church. The teaching was given at the newly completed Bible School classroom (see picture) and was well attended. We have Leadership Training scheduled through June already and the leadership here will participate in much of the teaching.

On a happy note, Alex’s bush cat had some kitties (see picture). On a sad note, though, a close friend Betty Bell and my Grandma Wagner died and their funerals were this past week.

We also wanted to let everyone know that Keith and Cindy Bickley have returned to the U.S. and we will miss them very much. We are praying for their re-entry into the American culture. We are grateful for all they did, both with us and for us, and we already look forward to seeing them again. As far as our future is concerned, we already have major medical outreaches planned through July. The regional and provincial supervisors here would like for us to continue to teach their Leadership Training classes and to be available to help the them in a variety of other ministry activities .

As we write this e-mail, we are in our second day in Mt. Hagen. Soon, we will be spending a few days with PNG Foursquare Timothy Tipitap in Enga Province. Then, we will be in Goroka at the PNG Foursquare national pastors bung (meeting) from 2/25-2/28/08. The PNG highlands are breathtakingly beautiful and the climate is great. Thank you again for your prayers, concern, support and love. We could not be here without you, and we are doing our best to represent you well.


Blessings,

Victor, Lori, and Alexander Obregon
Attempt Great Things For God.
Expect Great Things From God.
William Carey

20080215 Friday Our January Newsletter

Dear Family and Friends:

For the first newsletter in the year 2008, we want to start out with some of the wonderful more recent things God has done.

He has protected us from:
· falling trees,
· falling metal sheets from roofs,
· angry mobs,
· raging river crossings,
· rascals (robbers),
· ocean crossings in small banana boats,
· airplanes with missing parts,
· innumerable earthquakes,
· malaria and,
· machine gun armed guerillas at jungle blockade checkpoints.

In addition, we have seen with our own eyes people healed of horrible eye infections, abscessed ulcers, and broken hearts after praying with them. We are witnesses to God’s Holy Spirit drawing people to Himself actively at work in lives. These are just a few of the supernatural things that God is doing here, just as He is supernaturally doing things in your lives. Isn’t He great?

We, Victor, Alex and I, and Keith and Cindy Bickley and Pastor Emmanuel here from East New Britain, went to the island of Bougainville for a medical outreach in the central area of the island called Nagovis (see picture). This remote area has been closed in the past due to civil war (the Bougainville Crisis) and the area we went to was the hardest hit with casualties. We flew to Buka, and after a one day delay, we crossed the channel in a banana boat and got on a truck and bumped along for about 100 miles into the jungle crossing 56 rivers (some had bridges – most didn’t). Because we went before some heavy rains appeared, the trip only took 5 hours. We were stooped, however, by some machine gun-armed thugs at the Panguna Mine “No-Go Zone” checkpoint who insisted we pay kina to them since we were not from Bougainville. We arrived just before dark and got situated in our bush house before darkness fell.

The PNG Foursquare Bougainville Provincial Supervisor , Pastor Dennis Lokonai and his wife Clara, had organized the building of a bush medical clinic in hopes of reaching out to their area. They lacked both medicines and medical officers. We brought two large suitcases stuffed with medicines and dressing supplies and a large garbage container filled with supplies and give-away items which we left for them to use after we were gone. Because of the transportation and weather delays, we were only able to have 1 and ½ days of clinic. There were two health officers, Margaret and Jocelyn (see pictures) who traveled quite a distance to help us staff the outreach. Most of the people didn’t speak Tok Pisin but rather their Tok Ples (village language) so we had to have pastors and elders interpret for us. Many younger ones had never seen white women before and they would stare, follow and run or sometimes cry if we got to close. One sick child I saw would not let me near her and finally I handed the mother the liquid medication and had her take the child outside and give the medicine herself. A remarkable older woman came dressed in her best. She wore a beaded necklace, her earlobes hanging low with large tribal piercings, and she donned a skin type close fitting cap complete with a tail that hung down her back (see picture). She had a chronic condition (emphysema) which we could not treat, so I gave her some vitamins – calcium, B6 and a few pain pills (Ibuprofen) for her joint pain. She became upset with me that I had given her too much. Even after I explained to her via interpreter that I was trying to be generous by giving her a few months supply knowing that she would not be able to get more medicine, she sat stiff and fierce. So, I removed the calcium from her hands and asked if she would be ok with the other medications. She sat and looked at the interpreter and he looked at me and made that universal face of “this is beyond me”. I prayed over her and she shook my hand and slowly left the clinic. I thought “ that didn’t go very well.” But the next day as we were piling in the truck to return home, she came quickly out of the jungle trail by her house and reached into the truck with a huge smile to tell me goodbye. I found out later that she was the mother-in-law of pastor Dennis.

There was a regional Pastor’s bung (meeting) going on at the same time and so Keith preached twice and Victor preached once. I was also given the opportunity to speak with Cindy about broken hearts and how our sin and the sin others do to us can really mess up our lives. Many people came forward for prayer afterwards. We were told that a lot of backsliders had been at that service and many had turned to God.

During our stay in Nagovis Bougainville, we bathed in a local river until it was too muddy due to the rain. So, when it was muddy, we did the next best thing and washed outside of our house in the dark for privacy sake just before going to bed. Yep, you lay out the water, soap, and then turn off your flashlight and start washing the best you can in the dark so no one sees you.

The last night there was a special thank you service. The Pastors thanked us by washing our feet. It was so humbling. We were thinking that we should be the ones washing their feet! Also, I think our feet were the dirtiest they have ever been due to the recent rain and mud. Seriously, the thick mud in the village kept ripping my sandals right off my feet and splattering mud everywhere. I had given up and was just walking around barefoot.

The return trip took 12 hours instead of five due to the heavy recent rain and subsequent swollen river crossings. We were seated in the back of a covered truck and were separated from the driver by a cargo cage. The windows were quite small and our baggage was strapped on the roof making the vehicle top-heavy. We could sense God with us, but it was disconcerting to have rushing water flow over the hood of the truck, rise up to the level of the windows. and seep into the back as we would move with the current. Some of the occupants of the truck looked a little green. Cindy and I moved from one side to the other to help counter-balance the truck as we encountered big river rocks. Of the 56 rivers, four were especially deep. Some trucks (not us – by the grace of God, we made it across on our own) paid up to 100 kina to be towed across these rivers (see picture). We gave God all the praise for getting us back to our base home in Buka just as it was getting dark. We were still able to climb into the banana boat and get to the other side of the passage to Buka before complete darkness. We had the additional bonus of sleeping very well that night.

Now we are preparing for a medical clinic outreach to Kabanga on Monday January 21. It is a remote area that will include 4 surrounding villages. It is a sort of follow-up after an evangelism outreach there 8 months ago. This area is so underserved that an elderly man recently died trying to get up to the road to catch a PMV (bus taxi) to get medical care. I believe he had a heart attack. So you see, it is a long way for them to travel to get any medical care. We will have up to three local registered nurses/health officers accompany us on this outreach. Two HIV/AIDS counselors from the local hospital (Vonopope) will also be present to do HIV/AIDS awareness teaching. A policeman from one of our congregations will also be present to do Domestic Violence teaching. We are finding that, more and more, local people are staffing these medical outreaches. God is amazing, isn’t He?

Thank you for praying for us and for the outreaches. Please pray for our upcoming trip to the PNG Highlands 2/17/08-3/1/08. The PNG Foursquare President Timothy Tipitap invited us to the area to visit Foursquare medical clinics and to share his vision with for PNG medical ministry. We will be with him in Enga the first week and then attend the national Pastor’s bung in Goroka the following week.

Blessings,

Victor, Lori, and Alexander Obregon
Attempt Great Things For God.
Expect Great Things From God.
William Carey

20071223 Sunday Our December Newsletter!

Dear Family and Friends:

We greet you in the Name of Jesus, the name above all names, along with all the new and growing believers here in East New Britain Province, PNG. Guess what? We prayerfully named the Medical Ministry “The New Hope Medical Ministry - Foursquare NGI.” The “NGI” stands for “New Guinea Islands.” Our heart’s desire is to share Jesus’ concern to restore every part of man – his personality, his health, his relationship with God – and to save him from ultimate death.

Last night at 11pm, we opened the Christmas box we had received from NWC and laughed with surprise at the Christmas tree and decorations. Thank you for remembering us and all the wonderful cards you sent. None of our Christmas things made it here in the shipment, so… we cannot express how special this is (see picture).

We wanted to give you an end of the year update so you can have a sense of how productive your prayers and financial support have been. Let’s celebrate what God has done and is doing together:

• 63+ children were examined and prayed for in a Ralubang village well-child check.
• 313 people were examined, treated, and prayed for in a 2 day medical outreach to the remote Lambom Island & Udam villages, both in New Ireland. All attendees heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
• 340 people were examined, treated, and prayed for in a 2 day medical outreach to the remote Ganai village here in East new Britain Province (see attached pictures above). We combined our outreach with an evening evangelism crusade and all attendees heard the Good News that Jesus brings.
• Impromptu medical care has been given wherever we’ve happened to be (at home, along the road, at villages in the jungle, at remote schools, in town, after church, at the beach) that has included treatment for: head injuries (falls, domestic violence), infections (eye, skin, lungs, toes, insect bites, TB, tropical leg ulcers, boils, multiple fungal infections), dislocated shoulders, swollen extremities, and infertility etc.
• We show the evangelism-based “Jesus Film” movie in Tok Pisin in conjunction with the medical outreaches. While we are at the villages, we encourage and pray for the leaders in the area.
• We have preached and/or spoken at many area churches and other locations, including during youth services, giving our testimonies, doing child dedications, worship and prayer services, and communion. Many people have responded by coming forward for personal prayer.
• Alex participates in children’s evangelism drama and skits and assists Keith Bickley with the dispensing of medications and general all around whatever is needed ministry.
• We attend and participate in the monthly pastor’s meetings here, working closely with the Foursquare Regional and Provincial Supervisors.
• At the Leadership Training class for pastors and leaders, we taught a seven week class on “Biblical Marriage”. Later, we co-taught a four week class with Keith Bickley on “False Prophets and Cults.”
• Victor continues to be enrolled at the King’s Seminary in Van Nuys, CA as a distance student. He is completing his required Supervised Ministry credits in the field and he is almost finished with the Master of Divinity Degree Program.
• Both the Governor of East New Britain and the Mayor of Kokopo met with us on World AIDS day here. They explained to us that churches are an important part of the government community development endeavors here. We shared the Foursquare Island vision with them and discussed our plans to partner with the government to deliver health care to the underserved areas here. We were well received and publicly acknowledged at the event.
• Local Tuberculosis and HIV workers will be teaching at upcoming outreaches.
• Currently, we are in the process of networking with the medical, government, and the church community here so that we can order from the East New Britain area medical store in Rabaul and thereby secure a long-term supply of medications and supplies, especially anti-malarial medications and childhood immunizations.
• Local people are starting to ask to be a part of the ministry. This is a huge key. One young nurse from a local hospital said “I believe that God is calling me to be a part of the ministry”. A policeman we know wants to teach domestic violence awareness at the outreaches. We have had various pastors and others take over the wound care station during the actual outreaches.
• After praying for direction regarding Bougainville, we received an invitation to go to the war-torn Bougainville island to attend a dedication and opening of a Foursquare Medical Clinic. We leave the day after Christmas for a 6 days and we will do a 2-day medical outreach while we are there. This is exciting because the village is a remote, poor area that needs everything we can find to bring.
  

We have been here since early May 2007, and not including the month of June 2007 (when we returned to the U.S. for Victor’s mother’s funeral) we have been here now for a total of seven months. Many of you, however, have supported us since January 2007. We prayerfully believe God wants us to remain here in PNG through April of 2009. Would you consider extending your prayer and financial support? We especially need your continued prayer support. For example, there have been many times that we have been physically protected and I know it is because of your prayer support. Here is an example: the day before the Ganai outreach, a sudden and howling gust of wind tore through our yard and knocked over a tree ripping a metal sheet off the roof which hurled straight at Victor. The sheet fell and landed only a foot in front of him tearing a gash in a metal water container that was head level with Victor. I believe that God protected and spared his life in a miraculous way.

If you decide to continue to support us either financially and /or with prayer support, please let Mary Schell, the Mission’s Director of Northwest Church, know by January 31, 2008 so that we can plan accordingly. If we remain, we would like to continue our scheduled combined medical and evangelism outreaches and continue to oversee the growth of the New Hope Medical Ministry. Before we leave the PNG islands, it would also be ideal to have the medical outreaches be self-sufficient and staffed entirely by PNG indigenous people. We would also like to regularly sail to the more remote PNG islands to reach those bush areas. Also before we leave here, we would like to help the PNG island people complete all the necessary networking that a ministry like this requires. Finally, we also desire to continue our participation in children’s evangelism, as teachers at the Bible School and the Pastor’s Leadership Training Institute, as teachers in small home and village groups, and as general supporters and encouragers of the believers here in the PNG Islands.

Thank you for letting us be your hands extended to the PNG islands We love the people of PNG. Often during a prayer meeting the people here will pray for the people that have sent us and it is very genuine. They are praying for their brothers and sisters in America – they are praying for you.

Here are the current prayer needs:

• Health and protection (bug bites, malaria, fungal infections and upper respiratory infections).
• For local God-called PNG people to continue staffing the New Hope Medical Ministry.
• Continued favor with the medical, government, and church community here as we continue to set up the necessary networking for New Hope.
• Unity, spiritual growth, wisdom, and for keeping in step with the Spirit.
• Increasing Tok Pisin language skills.
• A friend of the heart for Alex (he is 12 years old).
• Nathan, our 25 year old son, who lives in Seattle and is working as a Marriage and Family Therapist.
• A chainsaw as the new one we just bought was stolen from what we thought was a securely pad-locked storeroom (they cut through a thick pad-lock to get to it). It was actively being used to help the churches here build a missionary house.
• A boat to sail to and reach remote villages in the PNG Islands such as those in New Ireland, Duke of York Island, and other parts of New Britain Island. Regular outreaches to these areas have been something that has been on the Foursquare Regional and provincial Supervisor’s hearts here for some time now.
• We are looking at alternatives to our current housing – housing that will allow us to be live here more securely long-term. (It has also been difficult to live in a fishbowl).
• Lori’s grandmother is very ill and has just had a diagnosis of cancer – please pray for the family and for resolution of pain and healing.
• Our upcoming outreach to Bougainville. We will fly to Buca on 12/27/07 and then drive in previously war-torn country for several hours before we arrive at the village. After we help dedicate and open the clinic and do a 2-day outreach, we will then drive back from the village to Buca and return on 1/2/08.
  

Be sure to check out the slideshow of our latest medical outreach to remote Ganai in East New Britain on this blog-site!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!

Blessings,

Victor, Lori, and Alexander Obregon
Attempt Great Things For God.
Expect Great Things From God.
William Carey

20071116 Thursday Our November Newsletter!

Dear Family and Friends:

It is hard to believe that it is November already. The tropical climate and being so near the equator means that every day is pretty much the same climate-wise. It is almost always sunny in PNG with sunrise at 5am and sunset at 6pm. It feels like a perpetual summer. We have had a busy and exciting month since we last spoke with you. Keith and Cindy Bickley and Victor and I did a “well child clinic” here in Ralubang (the village where we live – see picture) as a sort of thank you to the villagers for welcoming us into their community. (Currently, we are the only “white people” that live in this village.) We examined 63 primary school aged children and even some teachers and their families. We prayed and spoke to them about how much Papa God loved for them throughout the outreach. Later that same week, we were invited to do a children’s evangelism crusade for about 400 kids in a large school Primary School (Malacuna) located in the jungle. As a family, we did evangelism and discipleship skits, and Keith and Cindy did an evangelism puppet show. We brought a local Foursquare pastor to help with worship and prayer. It was so wonderful out in the jungle, under the shade of that huge tropical tree, as we listened to the many voices giving their hearts to Jesus. It sounded like beautiful music. Afterwards, we saw some sick people that needed medical attention.

Later in the month, as most of you know we were graced with a team of two ladies from our sending church - Mary Schell and Kathleen Norcross. With their help, we were able to do a United Foursquare Women’s (U.F.W.) Provincial Retreat that started on a Friday night and ended the next day (see picture). After the Friday night session, many women stayed overnight to pray and fellowship. Many area Foursquare churches were represented. The Holy Spirit was very present and powerful and many women responded for prayer and the desire to go deeper into the things of God.

On October 22, our team of seven sailed to a remote area of New Ireland Island and stayed in a village for two days called Lambom (see picture). We did a children’s evangelism program and presented “The Jesus Film,”(a Tok Pisin film based on the Gospel of Luke) that night. Although the movie started late and was 2½ hours long, everyone marveled at the Person and Work of Jesus and all stayed until the end. It was amazing to sit in the back and see even the smallest kids totally involved with the film. Many responded to the Gospel after the movie ended. At night-time all of us slept on small mats on the floor beneath mosquito nets. Four women were in one room and three men in the other. It reminded me of that children’s song, “There was four in the bed and the little one said, ‘roll over, roll over,’ and they all rolled over and one fell out….” We four ladies slept in the space of a double bed, but no one rolled out because all we wanted to do was to stay under the mosquito nets! We had seen a huge brown spider earlier that evening which was carrying what appeared at first to be a white biscuit under itself, but in actuality it turned out to be her large egg sack full of hundreds of baby brown spiders. The spider was on its way to climbing into our room to make her deposit before Keith sprayed her and Victor squashed her. The egg sack broke and hundreds of little spiders came pouring out which Keith also sprayed. So, although we were rather grossed out, we were grateful that Papa God was watching over us and protected us from a spider invasion.

The next day we crossed the bay in our banana boat (see picture) and held a day-long medical clinic at the Lambom Island Aid Post. Before we saw the patients, the outreach was begun with worship and a Gospel message followed by prayer all in Tok Pisin (see picture). It was so good to see our old friends and new ones! Later that afternoon, Keith and Alex went fishing and Alex hooked a large mackerel and Keith reeled it in (see picture). That was a real blessing because not only did the guys have a great time catching the large mackerel and telling the story about catching it, we also were able to have protein that night with our rice. Keith and Alex were dubbed the “protein procurement engineering” team. That second evening, we were able to pray over the leaders and elders of the Foursquare Church in there. They have endured much persecution and it was a great privilege to lay hands on them and pray and encourage them.

The next morning we packed everything up and traveled further up and around the south end of the island to an even more remote village called Udam. It took us about 2 and a half hours sail there. We landed where we could due to the rough surf and traveled by foot about 40 minutes through a single dirt jungle trail up to the jungle village (see picture). Local people helped us carry our supplies and it was quite grueling at times traveling over large unstable rocks near the water’s edge. I was praying for God’s angels to protect the team as we were tired, our feet were wet and the terrain was rough. Thankfully, God did protect us and no one fell or hurt themselves. Then after a potty break, brief snack of various fruits, we set up for a half-day afternoon medical clinic. After worship and prayer, Pastor Keith explained about Papa God’s great love for the them in Jesus Christ. Then, we began the clinic. We were able to see 183 people in that long, hot afternoon (see picture). Later that night, “The Jesus Film” was shown and many responded to the truth that God sent Jesus to reconcile the world to Himself. Cindy and I went with a couple of local ladies and bathed in a cool jungle river under a full moon. I didn’t realize until later that the two women were guarding us from poisonous snakes that come out at night. One lady walked in front of Cindy and one lady walked behind me waving and looking around. The night was full of bright stars and God’s beauty. Early in the morning I woke up and saw the bright Morning Star – you know the star that comes out in the darkest part of the night, just like Jesus who is the bright Morning Star that comes to us in our darkest times with His light. Well, during early dawn it was so unbelievably beautiful that I went out and sat in the corner of a field not far from where we were sleeping and was quietly singing worship songs to God. As the dawn slowly came up, I opened my eyes and saw 7 men walking in different areas in the same field and all of them were worshipping and praying. It was so moving to see men praying to our God as the dawn light came across the field. We packed again, leaving our mats and what we could spare for the people there as they have very little. After a breakfast of tea and biscuits, we were able to pray for the leaders of that area including the Udam Foursquare Pastor Emmanuel and his wife Kathleen and their baby Sharon.

At our departure from Udam village, the people helped carry our things back down to the beach and we were off back to Kokopo Town via our banana boat (see picture). We had brought along a barrel full of fuel for the trip but due to the rough surf on the way over we actually ran out of fuel on the way back. But because papa God watches over us and your prayers (we really sensed them), we were able to land at an area not too far from Kokopo Town and disembark there. We are so grateful to have been able to go on this trip and that Mary and Kathleen were able to come with us. Thank you. Cindy and I are hoping and praying to be able to return soon to strengthen the contacts that were made. I really wish you could have seen what we did. Little girls scrubbing blackened bottom of pans that were cooked over open fires with the white sand by the ocean. Young boys getting into their homemade canoes to paddle to school. Mary Schell laughing as she is chunking kids into the ocean. A young women telling us her desire to be like “Deborah” from the Bible. Kathleen Norcross as she is sharing stickers and smiling at all the young people as she cleans their wounds. Leaders calling out to Papa God to move with power and change lives and hearts. Small children glued to “The Jesus Film” movie listening and not moving a muscle. The Holy Spirit drawing people to the Truth of God’s Word.

A few days after Mary and Kathleen left, Joan Allen came. Joan was a great help and shared her life story at a remote jungle church and many responded. One little girl in particular, name Antonia, was sobbing and sobbing after Joan related her heart’s desire to know her natural father when she was a little girl. This young girl came forward and gave her heart to Jesus and now is getting to know her heavenly Father who will never leave her or forsake her. Joan also spoke at a United Foursquare Women’s Provincial meeting that represented many different local churches. She was a real encouragement to trust in God as He is faithful and trustworthy. It was wonderful to both watch God flow through Joan and watch the women receive the encouragement that they so need.

Again, we would like to thank you all for your prayers and support. We also would like to give Northwest Church a special thanks to helping us with the medical outreach to New Ireland Papua New Guinea.

Blessings,

Victor, Lori, and Alexander Obregon
Attempt Great Things For God.
Expect Great Things From God.
William Carey

20071116 Thursday Our October Newsletter!

Dear Family and Friends;

Boina Malana (or, “Good Morning” in the kuanua mother tongue here). We had a 6.9 earthquake last night that lasted for a while. We were on our way out of the house when the rumbling and shaking finally stopped. The house was bending and bowing, and the window frames and louvers were really shaking. We praise God because there was no damage to the house or the water tank. One of our alarm clocks woke us up this morning; that is, one of the many local roosters who has been crowing every 10 seconds since last night, I am sure. And yes, believe it or not I actually counted the seconds between crows. We have been up early as Pastor Komet and Regina, who live below us, recently purchased a Dyna truck to take the villagers to the market and back. The whole village is happy and you can hear laughter all up and down the road as people come to get on the truck for its maiden voyage. Last night, Victor was asked to dedicate the truck which is named” Press On,” and pray for the driver Bernard. Pastor Komet and Regina invest their lives and heart in “pressing on toward the high calling” by buying the truck to use both practically for the village and for any other kind of kingdom work (see picture). The small fare proceeds will go toward the church, and outreaches. We’ve never met anyone like them.

Victor and I had the privilege of dedicating Pastor Lebet and Pastor Mary’s granddaughter “Victoria” here in Rallubong earlier this month. We did not realize the family connection when we were called up to the front during the service. We are still learning all the connections between people here. It really can be quite complicated, until you begin to learn the culture more.

We have seen God do amazing things. An example is Ruby. Ruby is a young single teacher that teaches in a poor very remote area. She was sitting in her house one day and a rascal (bad person), shot a gun into her house and the bullet grazed the top of her head leaving an open cut on top of her head. The wound became infected and the infection moved down into her right eye and filled her eye socket so that her eye was shut. By divine appointment, we met her at her house. Well as God so often arranges, we had to go to town and Victor found some oral penicillin and a topical ointment that could be used for both the wound and directly in the eye. We went back to Ruby’s house and I put the first dose in her eye and had to use a clean leaf to apply the medicine on her head wound. All the children were gathered around watching and talking. Then we laid hands on her and asked God to multiply the effects of the medication and heal her and show her how deeply He loved her. Then we left. A day and a half later we were at the airport waiting for Keith and Cindy Bickley to arrive and a young woman came walking quickly to our truck and I didn’t recognize her until Victor noted that it was Ruby. Her eye was completely healed and I couldn’t even see her head wound. I was so blown away. I don’t care what kind of medicine you give – only Jesus can heal like that. It was so wonderful! We talked to her about Papa God who loves and healed her and she was smiling and nodding her head. She knows that God alone healed her.

A couple weeks ago Cindy Bickley and I walked about a mile into the jungle to visit a man who we suspect is diabetic. I brought my glucometer so we could check his blood sugar. He wasn’t at home but the group of small houses where he lived had a lot of people and we were able to visit and pray for them. I could do that every day. The only difficulty was that on the way back we had to pass through a group of drunk men on the road. I had to take my umbrella down and hold it like a sword and we did a lot of heart-felt praying for protection as we safely and quickly walked between then.

Alex, our 12 year old is doing well and slowly adjusting (see picture). Just the other night, I sent him out to scatter food scraps for the chickens and free range pigs (the local village garbage disposal units), and he never returned. Victor and I heard scattered laughter at the back of the house and we saw Alex wrestling with two of the village boys that I think he had been chasing. Today, we are going to the nambis (the beach), to rest and play. It is an odd thing to swim in the ocean and watch a live volcano smoking across the bay.

We went to Pastor Leonard and Martha’s fellowship they began near a village called Ganai out in the bush (see family picture). Keith and Victor prayed out a young man named Jonas to pastor a fellowship there. Jonas is planning to attend the Bible School when it starts again in February 2008. We all had an opportunity to share at the service, and we all celebrated how the Spirit of God is moving mightily here in the islands of PNG. We plan to do a medical outreach in the Ganai area soon, and we are praying that God’s outreach there will accompany evangelism and ultimately church planting as an integrated activity.

The New Guinea Island Foursquare Medical Ministry continues to move forward here. We are continuing to network and partner with the both the political and medical community here, especially the administrators and the directors of the medical services at the local hospitals. Together with the Foursquare Regional and Provincial Supervisors, we have prayerfully planning for about 10 medical outreaches a year which will emphasize evangelism. Specific outreaches (including the one to the Lambon Islands in New Ireland with the Northwest Church team this October) have already been scheduled through July 2008 and most of them will require us to sail there. Some smaller local land medical outreaches will be scheduled as well, which will include HIV and TB (tuberculosis) teaching and training by the local hospital officers in charge (OIC) of these services. Domestic violence teaching will also be scheduled as well. Plans for the shell of the Medical Ministry Center building hub, which will be built next to the Bible School, are almost finalized as well (see the attached .pdf file site plan at the village of Birar). In all this, we do not presume to know how to do what the Lord has called us to do. So like Solomon in 1 Kings 3:7-14, we are cleaving to the Lord and depending upon Him for wisdom. Thanks so much for your prayers in this area. We can really sense them.

We thank you again for supporting us – for your prayers, your giving, and your relational support. We are you extended to the people of the Islands of Papua New Guinea!

Blessings,

Victor, Lori, and Alexander Obregon
Attempt Great Things For God.
Expect Great Things From God.
William Carey

20070907 Friday Our September Newsletter!

Dear Family and Friends:

Can you believe that it has been a month since we talked to you last? I’ve had some people ask what our typical day looks like so I thought I would briefly describe one. The Village wakes up at about 5:00 a.m. not too long after you can hear the 5:00 a.m. plantation bells ringing for the workers to get up. Sort of a communal alarm clock. Of course, it never really was that quiet during the night as the jungle is full of indescribable sounds of tropical birds and animals and the occasional coconut that crashes to the undergrowth unexpectedly. The sun is officially cooking at about 6:05 a.m. We are on a hill of sorts, so any breeze that goes by filters through our open fly screen. We get up, look out, and yep another clear hot day ahead. We eat breakfast together and then Alex and I start school and if Victor has meetings or needs to get supplies for the bible school, we send him off with: bug spray, water, and an emergency kit . We are back together mid afternoon. Alex plays with the village kids (see picture) from about 5-6 p.m. and then the sun goes down every day just after 6:00 p.m. and I am cooking up vegetables, that I may or may not know the name of, that we eat in coconut milk over rice. It is the “in-between” times that things really happen. The surprise visits from people when you have to greet them in your night gown, but thankfully they don’t realize it. Or the pastor that shows up to talk right as you were leaving to go somewhere. Or the swarm of bees that are in your house that need to be encouraged to evacuate. Or the day you wash clothes and get into the container because it is just cooler and a group a people appear out of nowhere to watch.

A few weeks ago we had a spirit of fear walk into our house. Victor and I took authority over it in Jesus' name and threw it out. A couple days later Victor preached here in our village about the Supremacy of Christ and shared our experience as an illustration and example of Jesus’ power over all. Later the head pastors (Pastor Mary and Labette) came to us and told us that they heard God speak during the service and that, for some time, they have sensed that the village has been under the attack of the spirit of death (fear, and illness). More people were sick then they could remember and people were afraid. A young mother recently died after eating a lime she bought from a man who deals in witchcraft and the people were uneasy. Well as you know, we have been frequently sick (we are well now), as have Komet (see picture of Komet voting at the recent elections) and Regena and their family living below us, so we spent time talking and encouraging Pastor Mary and Labette and praying with them. It was a wonderful time of sharing and reminding each other how great our God is and that nothing is impossible for Him.

The Wednesday morning marriage/pre-marriage counseling classes we teach are going well. The attendance has been good. In the classes, we are learning just as much from the pastors about the culture here and how they view their world. They have really opened up to us. They told us that they were closely watching us when we came and they laughed and joked about what they thought about us initially. It was nice to see them relax and talk to us. That was very encouraging.

This weekend we are going to a combined church service in the Tavui #3 village in Rabaul. A combined service is a quarterly service that is attended by all who are leaders in the Foursquare churches here in East New Britain Province. Tavui #3 is in an area that has suffered from volcanic ash and it doesn’t have fresh water or gardens as the ash has killed a lot of vegetation and the usual greenness is instead dry and brown. The people don’t want to move or they will lose their tribal lands so they commute to their gardens remote from their village and have to carry water long distances. The new church is a spiritual light in the area and it will be a joy to see our new friends again. We have several large containers and will bring them fresh water.

The Foursquare Medical Ministry continues to progress here. We continue to share our vision with government health officials, and we have been well received. We have written up a proposal for the Medical Ministry Center which includes the overall Church of the Foursquare Gospel Vision, the Medical Ministry Center Missions, Vision, and Values’ Statements, a Five-Year Project Timeline, a Project Description, a Cost Breakdown, a Medical Ministry Center Site Plan, and Acknowledgements. Pastor Komet Malari gladly accepted the position of administrator for the Medical Ministry Center, and we are listed as the Foursquare Medical Missionary Supervisors. When the final drafts are ready, these documents will be available for viewing on our website and blog sites. We are planning a medical/evangelism outreach in October to the Lambom Islands which are part of New Ireland (see picture of Warangoi Haus Sik).

The Bible School construction is nearing completion. The roofing is now complete as is the exterior wood siding. The interior walling and molding is now completed. We will put the fascia boards and badge moldings in place soon and install the window louvers. The doors will be made and the interior will be painted in the near future. The kitchen will be furnished with appliances soon. We are in the process of designing an interior floor plan for the Medical Ministry Center building, which we have estimated will cost between 3,000 – 4,000 U.S. Dollars. We have already identified where the wood for the project will come from (a couple of trees in a nearby plantation), and groundbreaking is planned for October 2007. We are still searching and praying for the right land vehicle for the ministry.

Thank you for your continued financial and prayer support. We can really sense your prayers. We could not be here without you. You are so…......vital for all that we do here and we share equally in the fruit that God gives the increase for.

Blessings,

Victor, Lori, and Alexander Obregon

"Attempt Great Things For God.
Expect Great Things From God."
William Carey